Lint remover for clothes drier



Aug. 22, 1961 c. A. COBB ET AL 2,996,810

LINT REMOVER FOR CLOTHES DRIER Filed Feb. 6, 1957 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Hg Z 50 128 INVENTORS CLIFTON A. COBB HAROLD H. MORRIS T0 DRIER MOTOR 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 C. A. COBB ET AL INVHVTORS CLIFTON A. COBB BY HAROLD H. MORRIS lllllllllllllia'll I 8 Aug. 22, 1961 I LINT REMOVER FOR CLOTHES DRIER Filed Feb. 6, 1957 A ORNEYS Aug. 22, 1961 c. A. COBB ET AL LINT REMOVER FOR CLOTHES DRIER 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Feb. 6, 1957 INVENTORS CLIFTON A COBB I BY HAROLD H. MORR S W $44 kw ATTORNEYS assignors to Whirlpool Corporation, a corporation of Delaware Filed Feb. 6, 1957, Ser. No. 638,502 6 Claims. or. 3482) The present invention relates to improvements in devices for removing lint and the like from air and especially for removing lint from the atmosphere that has been circulated through a domestic type clothes drier. In the drying of clothes in clothes driers heated air 1s circulated through the drying chamber to evaporate the moisture therefrom. In its circulation, the air picks up lint from the drying clothing. This lint is objectionable in that it will adhere to surfaces contacted by the air when it is discharged from the machine and will be deposited as the velocity of the air is reduced making it highly undesirable to discharge air from a drier directly into a room. Further, the lint will contribute to the dust content of the air and will deposit unattractive and undesirable balls of fuzz and lint in the household and will often make it impractical to discharge the drying air into an attic or to an area outside of the house if the drier is vented to the outside.

Efforts to avoid the lint problem have included placing screens or filters in the air stream to filter the lint therefrom. These filters must be sufficiently porous so as to not require frequent cleaning as such will pass much of the dust and lint into the air. The filters, however, require frequent changing and if the operator fails to remove and clean the filter, in time the flow of air through the drier will be stopped terminating the elfective drying operation and frequently creating a dangerous situation in the overheating of the drier from failure to continue an air movement therethrough. Filters which are capable of automatically changing themselves or include automatic cleaning equipment still require disposal of the lint. Attempts have been made to remove the lint by combustion, but many of these devices have encountered difficulties and have not been fully satisfactory.

Accordingly, it is an object of our invention to pro vide an improved device' for completely and satisfactorily removing lint from the air discharged from a domestic-type clothes drier and for automatically disposing of the lint.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved lint-removing device which in one form will automatically destroy by combustion the lint that is removed from the air.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved safe lint burning mechanism which will destroy the lint by combustion and will also remove the objectionable features of combustion including the heat, smoke, and odor which usually accompany such procedures.

A further object of the invention is to provide a lintfiltering device utilizing a porous membrane which is capable of effectively and completely removing lint from the drier air stream and which is easily operated and simple to refill with an additional supply of membrane material.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved lint removing device utilizing a porous filtering membrane wherein the membrane is automatically advanced in response to each cycle of operation, or which in another form is advanced automatically as the membrane becomes coated with lint to reduce the flow of air therethrough.

Another object of the invention is to provide an im- 2 proved membrane for filtering lint from the air of a domestic clothes drier and an improved mechanism for supporting a supply of porous membrane and which will improve the ease of reloading the mechanism and replacing the membrane when the supply has been exhausted.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an improved apparatus for removing lint by a porous membrane wherein improved methods are provided for handling the lint-coated membrane.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a mechanism utilizing a porous membrane or belt for filtering lint from a drier air stream wherein an improved mechanism and method is utilized for advancing the membrane across the air stream to achieve enhanced eificiency and operating characteristics of the lint removing apparatus.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become more apparent with the teachings of the principles thereof in connection with the disclosure of the preferred embodiments disclosed and described in the specification and claims, and appended drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a domestic-type clothes drier with the interior operating elements of the drier being shown in phantom view;

FIGURE 2 is a schematic sketch shown in side elevation illustrating an arrangement for handling the porous belt material for filtering the lint from the air stream;

FIGURE 3 is a schematic drawing shown in side elevation of a mechanism for severing the end of a lintladen porous membrane;

FIGURE 4 is a diagrammatic view of a control mechanism for automatically advancing and destroying the lint-laden porous belt;

FIGURE 4a is a diagrammatic view of an alternate form of control for advancing the belt.

FIGURE 5 is a vertical sectional view taken along line VV of FIGURE '1 and showing the interior construction of the lint-removing device in an enlarged view; and

FIGURE 6 is essentially a rear elevational view of a lint-removing mechanism, with cover removed and parts broken away to illustrate the interior construction of the mechanism.

The lint removing mechanism is shown at 10 in FIG- URE 1 as attached to the cabinet 12 of a domestic-type clothes drier. It will be understood that although the lint removing mechanism 10 finds special utility and obtains advantages in this environment, its use is not restricted to the particular arrangement illustrated and described and it may be employed in other arrangements taking advantage of the features and advantages of the invention.

In a domestic clothes drier of the type shown, the operating mechanism is housed in a sheet metal cabinet 14. Within the cabinet is mounted a cylindrical drying drum "16, which is driven in rotation about a horizontal axis to tumble clothes therein during the drying op eration.

Drying air enters through louvers 18 at the back of the cabinet 12. and passes up through the entrance 20 to a duct 22 to be warmed by heating elements 24 Within the duct. The duct leads to a conduit 26 terminating in an opening communicating with perforations 28 in the wall of the cylindrical drying drum 16.

The air circulates within the drum and leaves through the perforations 28 to enter a fan scroll 30* and be discharged from the drier through a discharge duct 32. The fan scroll 30 contains a fan 34 Which draws the air through from the clothes within the drum.

The fan 34 and drum 16 are driven in rotation by an electrically operated motor 36 having a drive pulley 38 over which is threaded a drive belt 40. The belt passes over a small pulley (not shown) which drives a larger pulley 42 over which is threaded a fan driving belt 44 to drive pulley 46 to rotate the fan.

The lint removing device 10 includes a housing 48 which is adapted to be connected to the rear Wall of the drier cabinet 14. As illustrated in FIGURE 5, the housing 48 is provided with a tubular extension 50 carrying a flange 52 which may be connected by bolts or screws to the drier cabinet 14. The tubular extension 50 and the central portion of the housing 48 define a conduit 54 through which the air flows as it leaves the drier.

The housing 48 may be formed of sheet metal, plastic or the like as may the other parts of the assembly. The interior of the housing is hollow, and as shown in FIG- URE 6, has inner side wall surfaces 56 and 58 to receive an insert or slide 60 which carries a porous membrane belt to be drawn across the air conduit 54.

The insert 60 is shown in FIGURES and 6 as inserted into the housing 48 in operative position and includes an upper chamber 62, in which a roll 64 of porous membrane belt material is contained. The membrane feeds downwardly through an open slot 66 in the base of the membrane containing chamber 62 and extends across a porous membrane supporting member 68. The section of membrane which extends across the conduit 54 is prevented from being blown rearwardly in the conduit by the supporting member 68, which includes a series of vertical spaced ribs or bars 70. These bars give support to the membrane material and yet permit the air to flow through the surface thereof.

The lower end of the membrane is caught between a membrane advancing roller 72 and a pair of pressure rollers 74 and 76. The pressure rollers 74 and 76 are carried on shafts 78 and 80 which are spring loaded by springs carried in chambers 82 and 84 to urge the pressure rollers 74 and 76 outwardly against the advancing roller 72 and grip the porous belt material firmly therebetween. The pressure rollers 74 and 76 also press the lint collected on the surface of the belt material tightly to the surface to form a compressed belt to feed downwardly into the combustion chamber 86.

It is thus to be seen that the insert or slide 60 comprises at one end the curved chamber portion 62 containing therein the roll of filter medium 64, an elongated supporting member 68 integral with the portion 62 and located in the path of air flow from the conduit 54, and an end portion 69 formed with flanges 71 and 73 between which are located the pressure rollers 74 and 76 mounted by said end portion 69. As shown in FIGURE 5, the chamber portion 62 is located exteriorly of the housing 48, and the supporting member 68 and end portion 69 are positioned therein between its opposite ends.

While various materials may be used for the belt or membrane, we have found that cotton or rayon achieves certain desirable results, and functions to enhance many of the benefits of the present structure.

For loading the lint removing mechanism with fresh belt material, the insert 60 is withdrawn from the housing 58 by gripping the handle 88 and drawing the insert upwardly out of the housing. The chamber 62 can be opened by swinging back the door 90 on it pivotal pin 92 to insert a new roll 64 of material.

The leading end of the porous material, membrane or web which is to be drawn downwardly past the pressure rollers 74 and 76 is then attached to a gripping means 94 shown in the form of a tang or hook on the flange 73. The leading end of the belt is thus held on the hook 94, and the door 90 can be closed whereupon the insert 60 can be inserted downwardly into the housing 48,

The insert is guided by the side walls 56 and 58, as shown in FIGURE 6, until the flange 73 strikes the stops 95, and until the flanges 96 strike the stops 98 at the top 4 of the housing. As the insert is shoved into the housing the spring loaded pressure rollers 74 and 76 snap into place against the belt advancing rollers 72 with the lower roller helping to hold the insert in place.

As the belt is moved downwardly to enter the combustion chamber 86, it will engage an ignition coil 100, whereupon it will be ignited. The smoke, fumes and products of combustion then pass upwardly through a catalytic coil element 102 and flow up through 'a labyrinth chamber 104. In this chamber the gases are caused to zigzag through the offset ports 106 and the gases will be discharged through the opening into the conduit 54 to rejoin the discharging air stream after it has passed through the membrane held on the support 68. As shown in FIGURE 5, the insert 60 is not structurally connected with the chambers 86 and 104, nor with the catalytic coil 102.

The advance of the porous membrane belt material, whether it be into the combustion chamber 86 in the embodiment of FIGURES 5 and 6, or into the storage chamber 128 of the mechanism of FIGURE 2, which will be described later, is done automatically. Whereas the membrane may be advanced steadily during the operation of the drier, in a preferred form, utilizing the arrangement of FIGURE 4, the membrane is automatically advanced when it becomes coated with lint. Simultaneously with the advance of the membrane, the ignition mechanism is operated to burn the membrane moved down into the combustion chamber 86.

The membrane advancing roller 72 is driven by a motor 108, as shown in FIGURE 4, that is positioned at the end of the advancing roller 72 in FIGURE 5, and hidden in that drawing.

The ignition coil 100, the catalytic coil 102 and the belt advancing motor 108 are each supplied electricity from the circuit 110 which also operates the motor 36 for driving the drier. Thus, when the automatic controls for the drier operate the drier motor, the electrical circuit is also completed to the control mechanism of FIGURE 4.

The lead 110a connects directly to the ignition coil 100, the catalytic coil 102, and to the belt advancing motor 108. The circuit to the other lead 110b for these elements connects through a pressure switch 112. The pressure switch is normally open and has a pressure line 114 which connects to the conduit 54 leading to the housing 48 at a location upstream of the belt where it extends across the conduit 54.

Normal operating pressures will not close the pressure switch 112, but when the porous membrane or belt across the conduit 54 becomes clogged, the back pressure will increase in the line 114 to close the pressure switch. At this time the circuit is completed through the advancing motor 108 and the belt advancing roller 72 is rotated through one revolution to draw the lint-laden section of material from the conduit 54 and draw a fresh section of material across the conduit. As soon as the fresh porous belt begins to move across the conduit 54, the pressure upstream of the belt will drop permitting the pressure switch 112 to open. The motor 108 will continue for its full revolution through the operation of the holding switch 116. This switch is kept closed by a cam 1 18 which depresses the switch plunger 120. At the end of the revolution of the motor 108, the opening in the cam 118 will appear, permitting the plunger 120 to be released and the motor 108 will automatically stop.

The holding switch 116 also maintains the circuit to the ignition coil 100 and the catalytic coil 102 so that the belting will continue to be burned and treated for a period of time as it is pulled downwardly into the combustion zone 86.

In another form, the invention would use the circuit shown in FIGURE 4, but use a different pressure switch 112. The circuit 110 would still lead to the drier motor to be energized at the beginning of the operating cycle of the drier. The pressure switch in this instance will be designed to be operated as soon as normal operating pressure builds up in the discharge from the drier and in the line 1 14. The pressure switch 112 would be of the type that would close momentarily and then automatically open, and during the momentary closure, the motor 108 would rotate so that the cam 118 would depress the switch plunger 120. This would insure that the motor would rotate for one complete revolution and it would stop when the switch plunger is released by the notch in the cam 118. Thus, the motor 108, and the ignition coil 100 and catalytic coil 102 would be operated for one cycle at the beginning of each cycle of operation of the drier.

Other arrangements could, of course, be substituted for the pressure switch 112, and control of known types which permit a brief period of operation be used so that a fresh supply of belt material would be drawn down once each time the drier is operated.

Since the conventional domestic clothes drier employs a time cycling device, the existing time controls could be adapted to complete a circuit to the control for the lintremoving mechanism for a limited period of time once during each operation of the drier and thus achieve the result desired. As shown in FIGURE 4a a drier presettable cycle control timer switch 113 is provided and supplied electricity through leads 115 connected to the house voltage. The switch leads close the circuits to a heater element 117 and a driving motor 119 for operation of the drier for a predetermined time period. At a predetermined time in the cycle, preferably at the end of the drying cycle, the circuit is closed to the ignition coil 100, the catalytic coil 102 and the motor 108, to move a new length of belt material into place and destroy the coated length of belt material.

In some instances, it may not be desirable to burn the lint-coated membrane material. In these cases the ignition coil 100 and the catalytic coil 102 are omitted.

An arrangement such as this is illustrated in FIGURE 2 wherein the supply 122 of porous membrane material is stacked into accordion pleated folds so that the bottom layer is pulled from the stack each time the material is advanced.

In this arrangement a housing 124- for the lint remover is utilized having an upper supply chamber 126 and a lower storage chamber 128. As the folded material is drawn downwardly by the advancing rollers 130 and 132, which pull the material across the conduit 134, it is delivered to the storage chamber 128. Periodically the storage chamber will be cleaned out, preferably after the entire length of porous material 122 is moved into the storage chamber 128. The material then can be taken out and cleaned or washed and reused.

Another arrangement for disposal of the lint-laden porous material is shown in FIGURE 3. In this instance, the material advancing rollers 136 and 138 are constructed so that roller 138 carries a severing blade 140 projecting from the peripheral surface of the roller 138. The roller 136 preferably has a soft, resilient surface so that the blade 140 will sever the end from the material 150 for each revolution of the roller 138. Thus, the operator can remove the severed lengths of lint-coated material and dispose of them individually.

Although the operation of the mechanism will be apparent from the foregoing description of the individual elements, a brief summary of operation will be helpful in understanding the achievements and objectives of the invention.

In operation of the drier, the drum 16, FIGURE 1, is rotated and drying air is drawn through the drum by the fan 34 to be discharged from the drier through the lintremoving housing or casing 10. The lint-laden air flows through the conduit 54, in FIGURES 5 and 6, to pass through the porous membrane or belt stretched across the conduit 54 and supported by the support 68.

The lint-laden membrane is drawn downwardly by the belt advancing roller 72 against which the belt is pressed by the pressure rollers 74 and 76. The membrane enters the combustion chamber 86 to be ignited by the ignition coil and the products of combustion pass upwardly past the catalytic coil 102, up through the labyrinth chamber 104, to leave through the opening and join the air stream passing through the conduit 54.

Advance of the membrane material is obtained automatically when the material becomes coated. A pressure line 114- connects to the conduit 54 ahead of the membrane and operates a pressure switch 112, FIGURE 4. When the pressure switch is closed, the motor 108 driving the belt advancing roller 72 turns through one rotation and electrical current is also fed to the ignition coil 100 and the catalytic coil 102 for the period of rotation of the motor 108. When fresh membrane is drawn across the conduit 54, pressure switch 112 opens but the holding switch 116 continues operation of the motor 108 for a full revolution.

Thus, it will be seen that we have provided an improved lint-removing device for use with a domestictype clothes drier which meets the objectives and advantages hereinbefore set forth. The mechanism is improved in design and is extremely simple to load and operate.

The device is efiicient in operation and automatically functions to move the fresh section of porous membrane across the air stream when the coating of lint becomes too thick. Thus, when a material is being handled in the drier which provides an excessive amount of lint to be picked up by the air stream, the lint-removing belt is fed forwardly more frequently than when clothes with less line are being dried.

We have, in the drawings and specification, presented a detailed disclosure of the preferred embodiments of our invention, but it is to be understood that we do not intend to limit the invention to the specific forms disclosed, but intend to cover all modifications, changes and alternative constructions and methods falling within the scope of the principles taught by our invention.

We claim as our invention:

1. A device for removing lint from the drying air circulated through a domestic clothes drier comprising a housing adapted to be connected to a clothes drier and having an air flow conduit extending therethrough to receive the discharge of air from the drier, the housing having an opening in one wall thereof, an insert adapted for insertion into the housing through the opening therein, said insert being supported by the housing and being shaped at one end to define therein a chamber containing a supply of porous membrance material to be drawn generally from said end to the opposite end thereof and across the conduit to filter the lint from the air stream, and holding means on said opposite end of the insert positioned to carry the leading end of the membrane across the conduit as the insert is being placed in the housing.

2. A device for removing lint from the drying air circulated through a domestic clothes drier including a lint removal housing adapted for connection to a clothes drier and defining a conduit; therethrough to receive the discharge of air from the drier, the housing having an opening in one wall thereof, an insert adapted for insertion into the housing through the opening therein to 'position a porous membrane across the conduit, said insert, being supported by the housing and being shaped at one end to define therein a chamber containing a supply of porous membrane material, guide means for guiding the insert to operative position within the housing, holding means on said opposite end of the insert to hold the membrane to carry it across the housing, a web advancing roller within the housing to draw the porous web forwardly across the conduit from one end of the insert to the opposite end thereof, and a pressing roller adjacent the opposite end of the insert adapted to resiliently engage the web advancing roller, and spring biasing means for one of the rollers pressing the membrane between the rollers to draw it across the conduit.

3. A device for removing lint from drying air circulated through a domestic clothes drier comprising a housing for the lint collecting mechanism defining a conduit therethrough and adapted to be connected to the drier with the conduit in communication with the stream of air as it leaves the drier, the housing having an opening in one wall thereof, a roller for drawing a supply of porous belt material across the conduit, an insert having an elongated portion for insertion into the housing through the opening therein and having a pair of tripping rollers at one end adapted to clamp the porous web against the advancing roller in the housing and having means at the opposite end and outwardly of the housing for supporting the supply of web-belt material, guide means in the housing for receiving the insert, belt ignition means adjacent the advancing roller to ignite the belt material as it is advanced, electrical drive means for operating the belt advancing means, a pressure responsive means controllably attached to the electrical advancing means and to the ignition means and in communication with the conduit upstream of the porous belt, said pressure responsive means connected to the electrical drive means and the ignition means and operative to advance the belt material and operate the ignition means when the pressure in the conduit reaches a predetermined level indicating that the porous belt has been coated with lint.

4. A device for removing lint from the drying air circulated to a domestic clothes drier driven by an electrically controlled operating means, comprising a housing for the lint removing mechanism adapted to be connected to a clothes drier and including an air flow conduit therethrough, a chamber for containing a continuous belt of porous material adapted to be drawn across said conduit, belt moving means for moving the belt across the conduit as the lint is filtered from the air passing therethrough, and an electrically operated driving means for the belt moving means being electrically connected to the electrically controlled drier means to be operated concurrently therewith, said driving means for the belt moving means comprising first switch means connected to the belt moving means to cause movement of a lint-laden section of the belt away from the conduit and second switch means also connected to the belt moving means to cause limited continued movement of said belt after the first switch means is ineffective and a relatively clean section of belt is across the conduit.

5. A device for removing lint from drying air discharged from a domestic clothes drier after it has been circulated therethrough, comprising a housing for the lint remover defining a conduit in communication with an air stream leaving a drier and adapted to be connected to a clothes drier, the housing having an opening in one wall thereof, a removable insert adapted to be received by the housing through the opening therein, and means for moving a belt of porous material across said conduit said insert being supported by the housing and being shaped at one end to define therein a chamber containing a supply of porous material to be drawn generally by said belt moving means from said end to the opposite end thereof and across the conduit of the housing with the air stream flowing through the porous material, said insert further including an apertured supporting portion depending from said one shaped end for location in the path of air flow from the drier and supporting the porous material on one surface in sliding contact therewith during movement of said porous material between opposite ends of the insert.

6. A lint remover for a drier of the type including a motor driven blower for directing a stream of ventilating air through the drier, comprising, a cycling device for operating the drier through an operating cycle, means forming a conduit through which lint-laden ventilating air is discharged from the drier, a belt of porous material having a length thereof positioned across said conduit to filter lint, a combustion unit for receiving and combustibly consuming lint-laden lengths of said belt, and belt driving means for cyclically moving said belt including a separate belt driving motor, said belt motor and said combustion unit being actuated by said cycling device and regulated thereby for temporary operation during a predetermined period in the drier operating cycle to move a new length of belt into position across said conduit while moving the lint-laden length of belt for combustion in the combustion unit.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 305,716 Schulze-Berge Sept. 23, 1884 706,550 GOllings Aug. 12, 1902 1,098,511 Krauth June 2, 1914 1,982,639 Christotferson Dec. 4, 1934 2,179,150 Hageman Nov. 7, 1939 2,743,529 Hayes May 1, 1956 2,750,680 Houdry et al June 19, 1956 2,784,132 Maisel Mar. 5, 1958 FOREIGN PATENTS 620,906 Great Britain Mar. 31, 1949 

